Livin' the Good Life

Our friends Kelly and Maureen, from whom we rented the Sebastopol farmhouse, organized a trip to Medlock Ames in the Alexander Valley today. We sat in the garden while we waited for them to arrive and admired the bocce ball court, the well kept vegetable gardens, the odd looking metal wood burning oven from France and the surrounding vineyards.

When they arrived, we moved to the terrace, separated from the tasting room by huge windows which can roll up to the ceiling. Inside, there is interesting architecture with industrial looking lighting, a big farm table and shelves of bottles with the distinctive lMedlock Ames label, Huge annotated photographs by Douglas Gayeton of the vineyard with sheep, and the barrel room with the the wine maker Ames Morrison hang from the walls. It's restrained and restful.

We tasted several new releases accompanied by a plate of little bites designed to go with each wine,. and watched the busses taking gamblers back to the Bay Area from the casino in Geyserville, and phalanxes of Harley riders in their soup plate helmets roll by. We couldn't leave without a few bottles of Sauvignon Blanc,.

We spent a wonderful few years in their farmhouse, but better yet, we have become great friends with Kelly and Maureen. We bonded over our evening on the stage of of the Weill Hall when Lang Lang played at the grand opening.and continue to enjoy spending time with this fun couple. Before we left,, Kelly insisted on taking a picture of OilMan and me in his baby blue 1969 Mustang convertible.